Roommates
by SVU.BAU.CSI
Summary: When JJ and Penelope decide to find two roommates they may get more than they bargained for. How do JJ, Penelope, Alex, Emily, Elle, Ashley, and a 4 month old baby manage as roommates? AU. Story starts when they're in college.
1. Interviews

JJ - Sophomore - 20

Penelope - Sophomore - 20

Alex - Senior - 21

Emily - Junior - 20

Mia - 4 months old

Elle - Freshman - 19

Ashley - Freshman - 18

:::::::

 **AN:** So once again I have been plagued by another story idea. And I will warn ahead of time that Ashley and Elle will probably be OC, but I wanted to include them. This is very AU.

:::::::

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

:::::::

 _August_

 _JJ's POV_

Today is the day I tell myself as I throw my arm out to turn my alarm off. I don't know why Penelope scheduled the first interview so early in the morning. Sunday is the only day I don't have soccer practice. It is my one morning where I allow myself to sleep in past the sun.

"Good morning Sunshine!" Penelope calls from my doorway.

I burry my head further into my pillow. "To early," I mumble.

Penelope ignores my protest and plops down on the bed by my feet. "I have coffee," She offers holding the mug in the direction of my head.

With a sigh I sit up and take the offered mug. To my surprise Penelope is still in her kitten pajamas. "What time is it?" I ask too focused on getting the caffeinated liquid in my body.

"8:00 a.m.," She replies glancing at my alarm clock.

I groan knowing I only have an hour before our first interview. "Remind me again why we need two more roommates?"

"Because you had to cut down your hours at the pizza place, and all I can find or shitty jobs that pay crap," Penelope replies.

She wasn't wrong. In preparation for classes to start back I had cut down my hours. Now our two bedroom apartment had become harder to pay for. Our solution was to get two roommates. We have a full day of interviews ahead of us.

:::::::

"Well she was..."

"Interesting," I finish for her.

We just finished with our sixth interview; a senior named Cat Adams. I went ahead and marked her name off the list.

"So far we've eliminated all of our candidates," Penelope states scanning over our list.

I push my chair back from the table and stand up. "We got a few minutes. What would you like for lunch?"

"I think there's still some take-out from last night in the fridge," Penelope replies over her shoulder.

I open the refrigerator to find it full with take-out containers. Thankfully only two from the place we had last night. I grab the two containers and bump the door with my hip to close it. I talk to Penelope as I start to heat our lunch, "We should really clean out the fridge. There's a container from Leo's in there, and we haven't ordered from there in months."

Before I can get a reply a frazzled voice calls from the propped open door, "I'm sorry I'm early, but my boss needs me to come in early and-"

Penelope cuts her off, "It's fine. You must be Emily Prentiss?" I can hear the hint of surprise in Penelope's voice.

I turn around to find what had surprised her. Sitting on the floor next to our next candidate's feet is a car seat. I grab the containers and make my way back to the table. "You don't mind if we eat while we talk?" I ask handing Penelope her lunch.

Emily shakes her head. "Go ahead."

I allow Penelope to do the introduction. "I'm Penelope and this is JJ. We're looking for a roommate we think will be a good match. Can you tell us a why you chose this place?"

"I was hesitant to apply at first since this is kind of a two for one deal," Emily starts throwing a glance to the car seat.

"What changed your mind?" I asked.

"I was running out of options," She admits.

Penelope quickly cuts in to lighten the mood, "So you're a Junior?"

"Yes ma'am, I'm getting my degree in linguistic," Emily replies with a practiced professionalism.

"Do you have a job?" I ask next.

"I'm waitress on the weekends," She answers.

"Do you smoke?" Penelope ask making her way down the list of questions we had compiled.

"Not since I was sixteen."

"Do you party a lot?" I ask. Penelope and I liked to have a good time, but we know where the line is drawn at too much.

Once again Emily glances to the car seat. "Not anymore."

We spend about ten minutes going back and forth between Penelope and myself asking questions. I do have to say I'm surprised the baby hasn't cried.

"How old is she?" Penelope ask once she's made it through all of our planned questions. I should have known Penelope was excited about the baby.

Emily smiles and bends down to release the baby from her car seat. "Mia is four months old."

Penelope's eyes light up. "Mia, that's such a cute name!"

Emily seems taken back by Penelope's excitement.

"Penelope gets excited when it comes to kids," I inform Emily seeing her reaction.

"May I hold her?" Penelope ask extending her arms across the table slowly.

Of course Penelope would ask to hold a baby she's known for less than twenty minutes. I can see the hesitation in Emily's eyes as she agrees. "Don't scare her off yet," I tell Penelope joking. Everything considered Emily was the best candidate we had that day. I was definitely adding her to our list of consideration.

Penelope turns to me with a pouty face. "But she's an adorable little gumdrop."

"It's okay," Emily cuts in as she stands up to allow Penelope to hold Mia.

Penelope instantly starts cooing over her. While she's occupied I stand up and turn my attention to Emily. "We still got some interviews, but we'll give you a call and let you know," I tell her with a smile and a handshake. "It's time to give Mia back," I tell Penelope as Emily gathers the car seat and her bags.

Reluctantly Penelope hands her back to Emily. "Thank you for letting me hold her."

"You're welcome," Emily whispers before leaving the apartment.

I sit back down as Penelope speaks, "I liked her."

"Me too," I admit, "but we still have a few more interviews before we make a decision."

:::::::

The next person to sit across from us was a young blonde named Ashley Seaver. I did introductions this time. "I'm JJ and this is Penelope. We are looking for two roommates that will fit in around here. Can you tell us why you chose this place?"

Ashley folds her hands on the table as she speaks, "Would you believe me if I said your place found me?" She stops and I give her a glance to continue. "I was just walking when the flyer floated down in front of me."

"It's a sign!" Penelope squeals bringing her hands together in a clap.

Ashley blushes and tilts her head to hide it. Her hands fall back into her lap as she does. "I guess," She mumbles.

"So you're a freshman?" I ask.

She almost jumps back to her early posture as she smiles. "Yes ma'am. I'm studying criminology."

"That's cool," Penelope tells her. "What do you job wise?"

"I work at a paintball arena," Ashley replies with a side ways grin.

I chuckle. "Sounds like fun."

"It's okay, but the pays good and employees get discounts," She says with a glimmer in her eyes.

I could totally picture her running around on a paintball field dominating everyone. "Do you smoke?" I ask, though I feel like I already know the answer.

"No ma'am. I don't really do things like that."

"How tidy are you?" Penelope ask.

"I keep my space decently organized," Ashley replies.

When we've finished our questions and Ashley has left Penelope turns to me. "She likes videos games and the gym. She's perfect."

I glance down at our list. "We still have two more girls to interview," I remind her.

"But they're so perfect," She almost wines in attempt to persuade me.

I shake my head. "Either way we still have two interviews."

:::::::

As we finish the next interview I'm starting to think maybe Penelope was right. It wasn't that the next girl, Elle Greenaway, was bad she just had an air about her. She was hiding something that I just can't put my finger on. I don't know what the lie could be because she was pretty upfront with everything else: she smoked, liked to party, and wasn't the neatest person to name a few things.

I was fixing to share my thoughts with Penelope when there's a knock at the door. "Come in!" Penelope instructs.

A brunette wearing a pant suit walks in. She looks slightly familiar; I'm pretty sure she's the president of at least three different organizations on campus. "Alex Blake," She introduces herself shaking our hands before sitting down.

"JJ"

"Penelope, It's nice to meet you," Penelope says sending me a side ways glance.

"The origin of "nice" is 12th century Middle English, meaning 'foolish' or 'stupid'," Alex rambles neatly folding her hands in her lap.

"That's interesting," Penelope says with more enthusiasm than I could have shown. "You're a Senior?"

"Studying Linguistics." She nods.

Penelope and I share a glance. "You're the second linguistics we've talked to today," She comments.

"Well the school does have an excellent language program," Alex tells us.

If I thought Emily was put together I didn't know how to describe Alex. "Do you mind sharing why you chose us?"

"I wasn't too keen on roommates at first, however, I think saving money is more important. You two seemed like kind individuals that would make good roommates," She explained.

"Do you have a job?" Penelope ask.

"Yes, I work at a bookstore downtown after class."

Once again we were presented with the perfect candidate. "She'd be like having a living encyclopedia," Penelope states once Alex had left.

I looked at our list, "So we have four options; well more like three."

"Emily, Ashley, and Alex," Penelope says gathering her papers. "I wish we could have all three."

I stopped my own gathering of papers. A light bulb went off in my head. "We could."

Penelope turned to me with a look of surprise. "What?"

"We could choose all four of them," I state more clearly.

:::::::

 **AN2:** What ships would y'all like to see? I'm up for writing almost any pairings: F/M, F/F, and M/M. The BAU guys will make guest appearances.

 **Edit:** There is now a poll on my profile where you can vote for pairings. This way it'll make finding the total easier.


	2. JJ's Idea

**AN:** For those who haven't checked it out there is a poll on my page to vote for pairings. I decided this would be the easiest way to compile the total. If there's a pairing not on the list it means I'm not sure how good I would be at writing it (or I accidentally overlooked it), but feel free to leave it in the comments.

:::::::

 _JJ's POV_

"Did you make the dip last night?" I yell from the kitchen as I search the refrigerator shelves.

Penelope and I are still yet to clean it out. She walks up behind me and grabs the door handle to peer in also.

"See it's right here," She says pulling out a container from behind a takeout box.

"We should really eat out less," I say for the hundredth time as I shut the door.

Penelope puts the dip on the counter with everything else. In anticipation for our guest we had laid out a variety of chips, fruits, and drinks.

"We should have asked if any of them cooked," Penelope jokes.

I suddenly feel the nerves tangle in my stomach. "What if they don't like my idea?"

Penelope places her hand on my shoulder to calm my nerves. "I have a feeling they'll love it."

She takes a step back just as the door bell rings.

"I'll get it," I tell her.

Penelope shoots me a reassuring smile as I walk to the door. I open the door to reveal Alex Blake. She looks a tad more casual than before in a blue blouse and slacks with her hair pulled up.

"Nice to see you again," I say motioning for her to come in.

"You too." Alex steps in and offers me a dish. "It's homemade dip; I didn't want to come empty handed. You mentioned there would be chips and things."

I shoot Penelope a hopeful look holding up the dish. "You cook?"

"I dabble," Alex replies before greeting Penelope. "How are you?"

"I'm great," Penelope says then grabs a cup from the counter. "What would you like to drink?"

"Water is fine."

Before I can add to the conversation the door bell rings again.

"Hi Emily," I greet opening the door.

Compared to Alex, Emily is dressed much more casual in a red tank top and jeans with her hair cascading down in waves. Mia is on her hip while the car seat and diaper bag are clutched in her other hand.

"Little gumdrop!" Penelope cheers jogging up to meet us at the door.

I catch Alex watching curiously from the living room.

"Would you like to hold her," Emily ask, "I'm about to drop my bags."

Penelope takes no time taking Mia from her mother's arms.

"Let's go meet Alex little Mia," She coos walking over to where Alex is standing.

Emily uses her now free hand to catch the diaper bag. "I'm not gonna get her back anytime soon am I?"

I follow her gaze to the pair. "Probably not."

:::::::

 _Penelope's POV_

I can see Alex's hesitance as I walk towards her with Mia.

"Alex this is Mia. Mia this Alex."

"Hi," Alex whispers with an awkward wave.

I have to laugh at the look Alex is giving us.

"She won't bite. She doesn't have teeth yet."

Emily and JJ finally join us after finishing the conversation at the door.

Alex turns to the new comer and holds out her hand. "Alex Blake."

"Emily Prentiss"

Alex looks surprised. "Prentiss?"

Emily glances down like she's had that reaction before. "Yes, my mother is-"

Alex cuts her off in her excitement,"You're like a legend with the linguistic professors."

"Oh" Emily blushes. "Thank you"

"You're welcome," Alex grins. "Mia is your daughter?"

Emily nods, "Yeah."

"Mia is Latin origins meaning 'bitter' and 'wished-for child'," Alex spews out in one breath.

"Also means 'mine' in Italian," Emily adds.

Alex looks impressed. "Well it's nice to meet both of you."

The doorbell rings again and JJ runs to open it.

"I thought you guys were only looking for two roommates?" Emily ask.

"We were. We'll explain everything when everyone gets here," I reply.

JJ returns with Ashley and Elle flanking her.

"This is everyone," She announces.

"Explanation now?" Alex ask looking towards me.

JJ and I both nod.

:::::::

 _JJ's POV_

Well that went better than expected; I think.

"So all of us would live together?" Ashley ask from her spot sitting criss-crossed in front of the couch.

"We'd have to find a bigger apartment of course," I reply.

"Based on the average cost of three bedroom apartments we would each be paying about 160 a month," Penelope states having spent the last week researching. "That's cheaper than what any of us are paying now."

"How would we share rooms?" Elle speaks for the first time.

"Two to a room, but one room would have three," I reply. Penelope and I had discussed wether one of us would share with Emily or if three of the girls share and give Emily and Mia their own room. "That's one reason we wanted to have this little get together."

Penelope smiles. "I say we get to know each other, and then we can talk about it more"

:::::::

 _Emily's POV_

JJ was right; Penelope didn't want to return Mia. Her and Ashley were currently entertaining Mia as Elle sat back and watched.

"What do you think Emily?" JJ ask from my left pulling me out of thought.

I look towards her lost. "Could you repeat that please?"

JJ laughs. "You were too busy watching them weren't you?"

I nod as I turn back to my conversation with JJ and Alex.

"We were thinking you and I could share a room and let Ashley and Elle share," Alex explains.

"I don't know. Mia still has trouble sleeping the whole night without crying," I tell her. Based on what I know about her I bet the majority of her classes are early in the morning.

"I'm a pretty sound sleeper," Alex replies, "and all I need is coffee in the morning to keep me going."

I bite my lip. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Alex states with the hint of a smile.

"Alex, Emily, and Mia are sharing one of the rooms," JJ announces to the other three.

Penelope gives JJ a pouty face. "But I wanted to share with Mia."

"How about I let you babysit?" I offer knowing I can trust the bubbly blonde.

Penelope's face lights up. "Okay, Alex can share with Emily and Mia."

"And I guess blondie and I can share," Elle states looking towards Ashley.

"You're gonna have to find a better nickname for me cause three sevenths of us are blonde," Ashley tells her.

"I don't hear an objection," Elle says leaning back in her seat.

"I think fire just paired herself with water," JJ whispers just loud enough for Alex and I to hear.

I'm left wondering if that's a good or bad thing.

:::::::

 **AN2:** Let me know what you think.


	3. Apartment Search

**AN:** Go check out the narrowed down poll for ships in this story.

:::::::

 _Tuesday_

 _Penelope's POV_

It's Tuesday afternoon and once again the seven of us are all gathered in the living room. Some how we've all managed to crowd around my laptop looking at apartments. "What about that one?" Ashley ask almost hitting Elle as she points to the screen.

"It only has one bathroom," Alex points out, "if nothing else we at least need a bathroom and a half."

I continue to scroll down until Ashley does hit Elle when pointing to the screen. "Hey!" Elle yells grabbing Ashley's wrist.

"I'm sorry," Ashley tells her.

JJ ignores them and looks at information on the apartment Ashley pointed at. "Too expensive; next."

Emily's the next one to stop me. "What's wrong with this one?"

I glance over the information. "Doesn't have in unit laundry," I tell her.

"Is that a deal breaker though?" JJ ask.

"Yes," Ashley and Emily state at the same time.

I'm about ready to give up when Elle points to the screen, only just missing Ashley in the process. "That one looks promising."

I can feel JJ reading over my shoulder as I scroll through the page. "I think we found our place," I announce with a big smile.

:::::::

 _Friday_

 _Elle's POV_

It was Friday and we had requested a tour of the apartment to make sure it was what we wanted. Stepping in I realize it's even better in person. Which then again anything was a step up from my current apartment. Looking around the other girls seemed to like it to.

For an apartment the living room is pretty big. The back wall is taken up by a large window. To the right a half-wall and an arch way separate the living room from the kitchen and dining area. Compared to the rest of the apartment the kitchen's a little on the small side. I don't see the six of us trying to cook together, so it's fine. To the left there is a hallway. Stepping into the hall the first door on the right folds back to reveal a washer and dryer. Across from the first door leads to a bathroom. It's nothing glamours; just a sink, toilet, and shower. A door next to that leads to one of the rooms. And across from it lays another room. A door at the end of the hall leads to the master bedroom and ensuite.

"There's a walk in closet!" Penelope exclaims in excitement. "I call dibs on this room."

JJ shakes her head and places a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Sorry, Alex and Emily get dibs on this room."

Emily walks over to her with a grin. "But you do get shared dibs on the ensuite."

Penelope agrees when she sees the ensuite has a tub and shower combo unlike the other bathroom. The double vanity is just a plus. "Which room do you guys want?" JJ directs to Ashley and me.

"Left," We answer together.

Maybe sharing with blondie will be easier than I thought.

:::::::

 _Alex's POV_

The other girls had scattered around the apartment leaving Emily, Mia, and I in the master bedroom. Emily scans the room and I can almost see the wheels turning in her head.

"I was thinking we could put one bed up against the wall by the window. We can turn the other one outwards between the door and closet. It should leave enough walk room to get to the bathroom. The crib can go between the two beds," Emily rambles as she walks in circles pointing out her plan, "and we can put a desk by the window. We might even be able to fit a bookcase in here," She adds as an after thought.

"Sounds perfect," I tell her as she seems to have reached her end.

I guess Emily forgot I was there because she freezes. She turns to me with a look I haven't seen before. It seems to be a mix of surprise and delight. "You think so?"

"Of course," I reply with a grin.

:::::::

 _First Saturday of September_

 _Penelope's POV_

It is finally move in day. You would think it wouldn't be that hard with six people moving stuff, but we have learned it isn't an easy task. I still can't figure out how we got the piano out of Alex's place. I'm more curious how we're getting it from the moving truck to our apartment on the third floor.

We were currently moving the dining room table that came from our old place. "Left," Ashley directed. "My left," She corrected when Elle went the wrong way.

"Come help us Penelope," JJ called from her side.

I ran over and grabbed the other side. "Why did you choose an apartment on the third floor?" Elle ask from her pinned position.

"We're almost at a landing then we can take a break," Ashley told her.

"I can't go anywhere!" Elle tells her, her volume rising.

Alex was walking up behind us in case one of us needed to switch out. "Why didn't you take the legs off the table?"

"The legs come off?" Ashley ask sheepishly.

"You mean to say the legs come off this thing?" Elle ask at the same time.

"When we get to the landing I'll show you," Alex replies.

"You'll need this," Emily states holding up a screwdriver.

Emily has Mia strapped to her back and I can't help but coo at how adorable she looks in her sun hat. "Such a cutie."

"Penny!" They all yell at once before I let go of the table.

"Sorry," I whisper.

"Less talking more moving," Elle complains.

After what seems forever we reach the landing. Alex quickly takes the legs off and we continue our journey up the stairs. Taking the legs off didn't make the table lighter, but it did make maneuvering easier. "Finally!" Elle cries out as we reach our floor.

I'm about to sing praises too when the table suddenly becomes lighter. "Here let me help you."

I turn to see a tall, muscular man behind me. Once we've gotten the table in the apartment I turn to a mysterious helper. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He glances around the room. "My roommates and I can help you with the rest."

I smile. "We wouldn't want to impose."

"It's no problem. Why don't you come over and meet them real quick and then we can help you."

"Sure…"

He sticks his hand out. "Derek Morgan."

I take his hand. "Penelope Garcia."

:::::::

When we step into Derek's apartment there's five guys sitting in the living room. Three of them are sitting on the couch in a heated race of Mario Carts. The other two both have a book in their lap. The older one of the two looks like he's attempting to study. The younger one is quickly flipping through a book thicker than most textbooks. "Guys I want you to meet our neighbors!" Derek yells grabbing their attention.

I give a tiny wave and start going down the list, "I'm Penelope and this is JJ, Ashley, Elle, Alex, Emily, and little Mia."

Derek smiles and starts naming his roommates. "The three on the couch are Kevin, Aaron, and Will. Good luck trying to understand him. The one pretending to study is Grant, but I find shouting Anderson does the trick to get his attention. Lastly our resident genius is Spencer."

"Nice to meet you all," Alex says for the group.

"I was hoping we could help them move in," Derek tells them.

The guys nod and start putting up their game. I lean over to whisper to Derek, "Is it a good time to mention we have a piano?"

Derek keeps his face neutral as he gives another order, "Pretty boy while we're moving stuff I want you to tell the girls a little about the buildin. Under no circumstances are you to help us move things."

Spencer nods letting his shaggy hair fall into his eyes.


End file.
